On September 24, 2007 I presented my SED 405 class with a media artifact. The media artifact assignment is designed to entice conversation about secondary education, schools, teachers, students, teens, etc. Thus far, we have seen four media artifacts in class: a segment of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, an article from the PROJO, www.hoboteacher.com (a hilarious teaching blog), and the back of a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese box (my artifact). The reason why I chose the Mac & Cheese box was because of the advertisement that appeared on the back of the box. The advertisement was for Caprisun (an all natural juice drink marketed for children). Its slogan was, "ADD COOL THE LUNCHBOX."
My objective in bringing in the advertisement was to have the class reflect on the roles corporations and their agendas have on students' perceptions of the purpose of school. In the case of my media artifact, Kraft helps students craft (I know, couldn't help myself) ideas that their roles in school is to be popular—COOL. We had a lively discussion about the pedagogies advertisements instill in the American population. Just recently, in USA TODAY, Men's Health advertising specialist stated that the average adult sees 3000 advertisements per day. Most likely, children see more than that.
The conversation ended with no one being satisfied, and all wondering what role corporations will have in the future of education. Will more schools funded by corporations, like the CVS Highlander Charter School in Providence, be in the states? Should there be a separation between corporation and state, like church and state, that disallows states from governing materials and bylaws inside private schools like CVS Highlander? Undoubtedly, the face of education will change within the next century; it has to because education is alive—never stagnant. Will its next face be a blank sheet of class that periodically fills with advertisements to help assimilate students into a thriving global, capitalist world? Or, does it already have that face, educators just use catch slogans like "MULTICULTURE EDUCATION" as makeup?
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